L'armata delle tenebre

I remember when this film just came out in the theater, I didn't know anything about the Evil Dead films and in fact hadn't even heard of them. From the previews I had ZERO desire to see this film. The years went by and in late 2000 or maybe 2001 I finally decided to watch it, cause I'd heard so much about it and just couldn't take it anymore, I had to see what the fuss was about. I was NOT disappointed! This is probably one of the funniest movies I've ever seen!!!

This movie is definitely not for everyone though. The comedy in this film is VERY odd, so I could understand if someone didn't find it funny at first. First thing you need to keep in mind is that this movie IS NOT trying to be serious, and most definitely doesn't take itself seriously. The movie is just plain weird, but that's what makes it so great. You really can't explain this movie to someone that hasn't seen it, you just need to see it for yourself.

Also, if you didn't already know this, this is the 3rd installment to a series. Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 are the first two installments, then Army Of Darkness. You don't even need to see the first two to understand what's going on or anything like that. In fact, to this day I still haven't seen Evil Dead. When I watched Army of Darkness, I hadn't seen either Evil Dead or Evil Dead 2. Since then, I have seen Evil Dead 2, but neither film is a prerequisite for this film.

Also this film has an enormous amount of quotable lines. Bruce Campbell is THE MAN! The way he says stuff is just great!

Well, I truly hope that you'll watch this movie. But watch it with an open mind and remember that this IS a STUPID movie, but it's supposed to be. Thanks for reading,

-Chris

Okay, maybe it's more comedy than horror, but who cares? Army of Darkness is an awesome movie. Bruce Campbell does an excellent job as Ash, the arrogant and hilarious hero armed with his trusty chainsaw and 'boom stick'. The plot was great and fresh, showing that the people behind the scenes were not trying to do the same thing that made Evil Dead I & II popular. The movie is filled with sword swinging skeletons, kick boxing witches and slap stick. Bruce Campbell has some excellent one liners. To sum it up, Army of Darkness is groovy.

But you can let it end here. Give us another sequel please.

It's not good as "Evil Dead 2" but it's still a fun humorous wacky movie with a bit of horror(well when it comes to the surroundings anyways). This doesn't really have that scare factor compared to the first two, but instead it brings out the crazy, humorous and wacky elements way more this time around. And it takes place in the Medieval Ages I think. Even though this one doesn't really have much to do with the previous installments it's still has that flare going for it. sure it's one of those movies that is the epitome of just going with the flow. Because a lot of it is random or doesn't make much sense. But if you can just go with it, you can enjoy this. What really drives this movie though is Bruce Campbell reprising his role as Ash. His goofy, silly and wackiness while also being a badass brings a lot to this movie. And gives a incentive to root for his side. Although it can be cheesy at times it's still a very fast-paced and entertaining film. Overall it's a ridiculous movie that is so good.

7.9/10

Most people would say you can check your brain at the door before you watch this film, but I beg to differ. This is genuinely intelligent stuff here folks. The director, Sam Raimi, reminds us in this film what it is like to have fun. From the film itself, as well as the DVD featurettes, it is apparent that Mr. Raimi is having a blast doing what he does best. It shows too. Granted, there is not much in the line of plot or theme, but these would be totally gratuitous in this escapist piece. Instead, we are given a fantastic adventure, appropriately tongue-in-cheek special effects, and an ode to The Three Stooges. The facial expressions of Bruce Campbell alone make this film well worth its 80 minutes. I don't want to give away a single joke, because the experience is just too much fun. So, do yourself a favor. Watch this film without being so hard on yourself. Yes, you are allowed to laugh. There can be non-sardonic humor in modern day America. Sam Raimi proves it.

At the end of Evil Dead 2 Ash is sucked back in time through a time warp. He returns to medieval times where he is mistaken for the prophesied saviour. He is sent to recover the lost Necronomicon to save the people but also return him to his own time. Typically he makes a mistake when reading the book and he reserectes the army of the undead onto the land. Ash must fight to defeat yet more undead fiends!

The third in the series sees the gore drop off and the comedy step up even more. The previous two were both darkly funny but this is just plain hilarious. The sheer raft of one liners and silly/horror set ups keeps you laughing all the way. The horror is not scary as before – mainly because the gore is gone, however I prefer this as the stop motion stuff gives it an old fashioned feel that adds to the value of it – it's hard to explain but I really enjoy this because it feels like an old Harryhausen film.

Campbell is brilliant – I bet he can't believe hi s luck, the rest of his career he's struggled but Rami seem to love him. And rightly so, he is like Jim Carrey but has so much more talent and is a classic B-movie leading man type. The rest of the cast are so-so but really this is an one man show and he does it really well.

Overall this is a great little film. Fans of the series will love it, fans of comedy should love it and fans of B-movie cheese should enjoy it. And the less gore means fun for all the family (almost).